forethink

F4O1R1E1T1H4I1N1K5

verb

To plan (something) in advance; think, consider, or contrive beforehand; prognosticate.

OriginMiddle English forethynken ← Old English fōreþenċan →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

verbforethink (third-person singular simple present forethinks, present participle forethinking, simple past and past participle forethought)

present singular third person forethinks · participle present forethinking · participle past forethought · past forethought

  1. raretransitiveTo plan (something) in advance; think, consider, or contrive beforehand; prognosticate.

    O vain sorceress , that could be wary to avoid the punishment of Saul ; careless to avoid the judgment of God ! Could we forethink what our sin would cost us , we durst not but be innocent

    1612–1634, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in [Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holy Storie], volume (please specify |volume=I to VIII), London, →OCLC
  2. raretransitiveTo think about beforehand; to anticipate.

    Let not thy divining heart / Forethinke me any ill [...].

    1635, John Donne, Song
    1 more example

    […]and the soul of every man / Prophetically doth forethink thy fall.

    c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

Origin

  1. Old Englishfōreþenċan“to premeditate, consider, be mindful”
  2. Middle Englishforethynken
  3. Englishforethink

From Middle English forethynken, from Old English fōreþenċan (“to premeditate, consider, be mindful”), corresponding to fore- + think. Cognate with Dutch voordenken, German vordenken (“to think ahead”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

forethink. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forethink

MLA

“forethink.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forethink. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forethink,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forethink.

Source: forethink on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.